Our mission: The Raleigh School is a cooperative community of children, parents and teachers that fosters a love of learning in an atmosphere of challenge, inquiry and respect.

Assessment & Testing

Testing is often considered the primary means of assessment, but that is far from true at The Raleigh School.

Assessment

Assessment is an ongoing, daily process at The Raleigh School. Students' skills are assessed through a variety of methods such as:

Observation

One-on-one skills assessment

Review of class work and homework

Rubrics created for each project

All-School Writing Day (reviewed by teachers)

Peer review

Self-assessment by students

Teachers compile all this information and create detailed progress reports that are a a combination of grade-based skills' assessment and narrative. Progress reports are reviewed with parents twice a year at parent-teacher conferences, and a final progress report is mailed home at the end of the year. In fifth grade, the student leads the second conference by reviewing goals and showing achievement relative to the goals.

The progress reports are used instead of traditional grades.

Testing

The Raleigh School is free from the constraints of EOGs, EOCs, grade-level testing and other types of tests that detract from the mission at hand. The state requires the school to give a nationally normed test, and that is the only standardized test we administer. We administer the Stanford Achievement Test in third-fifth grades, with minimal class time spent in preparation for the test.

Fourth grade

Fifth grade

Total Reading: National percentile—95

Total Math: National percentile—96

Language: National percentile—90

Spelling: National percentile—89

Battery Total: National percentile—93

We are always proud of our test scores, but we recognize that standardized achievement tests are not the only or even the best outcome measure for our educational objectives. While scores can be helpful in planning curriculum and understanding children’s strengths and areas for improvement, they do not take into consideration more intangible skills such as work ethic and effort, empathy, and perseverance. At The Raleigh School we believe that these intangible qualities are equally as important as performance on any given test.

I continue to be inspired every day by the parents, the staff, and by the kids in the enthusiasm that they bring to the art of learning.

Zehra Jung, TRS parent of two

The Raleigh School is an independent, secular school serving children in preschool through 5th grade.